How to Create a Website Resources Section for Advanced SEO

SEO and online marketing has come a long way from simple keyword optimization and link building. There are dozens of new strategies that can improve your search engine rankings, one of which is putting a resources section on your website.

What is a ‘Resources Section’ and Why Do You Need One?

A resources section is a collection of different pages or articles about your company, products, and services. Content in a resource section varies per industry, below is a list of what you can include in your resources section to kick your website into high gear:

• Frequently asked questions (FAQs) Great for snippets and voice search
• In depth and evergreen resource articles
• A list of industry jargon and their definitions
• How-to guides
• Videos
• Podcasts
• E-books
• White papers
• Industry news
• Product care and maintenance guide
• Manuals
• Downloadable files
• Customer case studies
• A list of helpful contact numbers and emails
• A link to your blog

Resource pages are awesome because they come with many benefits for you and your website’s visitors:

• SEO Boost from quality content that increases time on site and # of pages visited
  A resource section links to some of your most helpful and in-depth content, which can help you rank for specific keywords in your niche.

• Improve User-Experience and Decrease Bounce Rate
  A resource section on your website’s top navigation bar gives users an easy way to find answers to their questions. This way, readers can have their questions answered without contacting your sales or customer support team.

• Discovery of Other Content (or Products)
  Users looking for answers about one product or topic, may notice your other products and services, especially if these items also address other problems they’re having.

• Improve Conversion
  The resource section can answer questions and other buyer-hesitations not addressed on your landing pages. Remember, informed customers are happy customers less likely to feel buyer’s remorse. It’s easier to work with an educated customer, because that allows your team to focus on customer support instead of educating customers on the need for your product. 

How to Create a Resources Section

1. Build One Resource at a Time

Like any great material, your resource page can’t be completed in one day. You can start with something small, like an FAQ page for your most popular product, and then add on to it as time and resources allow, or as more information comes to surface.

So don’t let lack of information stop you. Just start with one resource—be it an FAQ, how-to article, or a video.

2.  Make Sure it’s Accessible

Put the link to your resources section on your top navigation bar and make sure it’s organized so users don’t have to waste time looking for what they need. Below is an example of a well-placed resources section from Miles and Stockbridge law firm.

3. Organize It

You may not need to do this if you don’t have a ton of material to put on your resources section just yet. But you definitely need to organize your resource section to avoid overwhelming your readers if you have lots of materials to share.

Categorize materials based on their subject or content type, and include a headline with a short description for every item. This way, users don’t have to open the page just to see if it contains the information they need. Headlines and images also break down long pages into easily digestible chunks of information.

Navy Federal Credit Union, for instance, has an excellent resource page that’s easy to see and organized according to common topics their visitors read.

Allow users to search for information in different ways, such as through categories, content type, title, or author name. One way to easily apply this to your content is to use tags. You can also use search forms to allow users to search by keywords.

Hubspot, for example, mainly organized their resources according to the content’s main category (how-to, customer stories, and products). But if you click on one type of content, such as ‘Ebooks, Guides, and More,’ you’ll be redirected to a new page where you can filter resources further by content type, topic, or by using the search function.

4. Avoid Misleading Headlines

Avoid misleading headlines that have nothing to do with the content in your resources. If your ebook says it’s about SEO for law firms, then it should be about that specific topic. Yes, you can still use catchy headlines but don’t sacrifice clarity for the sake of cleverness.

5. Highlight New Content

Things change regularly whatever industry you’re in, so it’s helpful to highlight newly added and updated content in your resources section. Updated content tells your visitors that you’re in-the-know of market trends and therefore a reputable source of information. While updating some of your e-books and some of your in-depth articles may take time, doing so gives you an advantage over others who let their content go out of date. It also helps in building your authority online.

6. Encourage Social Shares

Include social sharing buttons on every page include in your resources section. Encourage readers to share your whitepapers and e-books to by including a short call-to-action at the end of these files.

You might think an FAQ page on your product or a white paper on a very niche topic has no sharing potential, but you’ll be surprised how many Facebook and LinkedIn groups exist on very niche topics. Besides, the people sharing your content are likely connected to people in their industry via LinkedIn and other networks, so having them share content from your resources section widens your reach.

Start Your Resource Section Now

It’s never too late to start. If you’re overwhelmed, just think of one to three topics where your readers might appreciate an FAQ then list the answers to common questions you receive on those topics.